How to handle payment arrangements with collectors
Date: Fri, 02/22/2008 - 11:36
Here's how you do it:
1) First, nothing sent to the CA until you get an agreement in WRITING that includes a NO RECOURSE clause. If they won't send that, then you know that they have no intention of honoring the agreement. Ignore them until they will.
2) NEVER EVER NEVER EVER NEVER give them electronic access to your checking account or post-dated checks. I have heard many many many horror stories about the CA cleaning out bank accounts or overdrawing the account with post dated checks.
The collector slugs will jump up and down and scream and yell about 'gotta have payment today'. Here's how you deal with that...you manage THEM. Once you have your agreement in writing, you tell them that they can't have access to your account but that you will overnight them a cashier's check. They will pitch a 5 year old temper tantrum and then you hang up on them immediately. Do not answer the phone again until after 11:00 AM THEIR TIME the very next day.
When you answer the phone the next day, you start by telling them "had you taken the overnighted check, you would be holding your commission right now....would you like to reconsider?". If they say no, warn them that you will not answer the phone again for a period of 1 week and give them a last chance to reconsider the overnighted check. If they say no, hang up and wait a week before talking to them.
The next time, you talk to them, give them the same offer but tell them that it is approaching month-end (aka they are humping it to make quota and bonus) and if they don't want to do the deal and accept the overnighted check, you have someone else you owe who will. Explain that it will be months before you save up the deal amount again and ask them if they want the overnighted check or not. If not, hang up and don't answer the call again for at least a month. Then tell them that you have a little bit of money again and if they want the check overnighted, so be it. If not, tell them you are buying a new HD TV with the money instead.
They will come around, trust me.
Guest by design
I read on here all the time "we never give advice to not pay you
I read on here all the time "we never give advice to not pay your debt". Well, this says don't pay your debt. It is no longer YOUR terms when you are charged off. You made the decisions when your account was in good standing, now the payment is due. Go ahead and take this advice, I am sure you will end up wishing you hadn't. Remember, that interest you agreed to pay when you opended the account continues to compound daily. Play the game described here - it will cost you hundreds or thousands, depending on how long you STALL.
No one should ever agree to anything they can't afford. Ever.
No one should ever agree to anything they can't afford. Ever.
Also overnighting a cashiers check is a collectors dream come true. Certified funds and a tracking # from the over night. An additional cost to you but it makes no difference to a collector.
I don't think that setting the mind frame of hostility is a good way to start unless you are given cause.
Your advice is great FYI I agree with you 100% I am not really s
Your advice is great FYI I agree with you 100% I am not really sure what Guest is trying to say other than being a troll :evil:
debt
Why is it JUST ABOUT every time someone comes on this forum to make a 'negative' comment, they ONLY use 'GUEST' as an ID? Can they NOT 'show' themselves, like other people do? Dealing with any CA is a difficult thing to do..I don't care who you are. Hey, 'Ladybug'........is there anyway to STOP these Trolls?
I????????m starting to take the ???????ignore
I????????m starting to take the ???????ignore all trolls???????? road, other then those particularly warty and offensive individual trolls who like to come on and give specific posts either wrong advice or try to make them feel like a deadbeat.
Now, as to the meat of the original post, I am of two minds as I agree with some and don????????t agree with some.
Mostly I believe in having a firm hand with the CAs, I don????????t mean rudeness, but firmness. You know what you can afford, if they don????????t take the offer then they get put to the back of the line. You tried.
However it could pose some potential problems. Interest is a good one. However I would scrutinize the contract (and I assume one would have all the validating documentation before even considering a payment plan) and make sure that whatever interest they are charging you is either in the contract or in your states laws. Sometimes when we have little money, we have to bite the bullet and pay more in the long run to pay smaller amounts as you go on living.
They may sue you. This could bite you on the bum, but I don????????t think so hard if you truly made payment arrangement offers that the CA refused.
If they haven????????t reported to the CRAs they likely will???????dropping your credit.
Honestly I think you should try and pay those accounts that haven????????t reported to the CRAs and just save money here and there and offer pay for deletes to the CAs already reporting, if they refuse drop them to the back of the line and try the next one..I bet your next offer won????????t be so lightly refused. :)
I never said not to pay your debt. In fact, I think you should
I never said not to pay your debt. In fact, I think you should pay every penny of it.
My OP was about the collectors that call up and either will not put the deal in writing or will only put the deal in writing with electronic access to your checking account or post dated checks if doing a payment arrangement.
I guess you guys are right, the collectors never ever overdraft accounts. See the post 'unauthorized debit to my checking account' below.
What I proposed above is a negotiating tactic when dealing with the bottom of the barrel collectors. If they aren't willing to put it in writing, they are planning to get what they can and harass you for the rest. If they only will do the deal through electronic access to your account, they are planning on taking the balance of the account no matter what you agreed on.
Go ahead and be a vicim, I guess.... :roll:
Guest by design
FYI- if you agreed on a certain amount over the phone then re
FYI-
if you agreed on a certain amount over the phone then realized you cant afford that what should you do? Send in what you can?
OK
Guest, I don't think anyone was slamming your original post. I think the majority of the comments that referenced "Guest" were made regarding the post immediately after yours.
I could be wrong, though, so someone correct me if I'm confused.
I think there are too many "Guests" and it's getting confusing. Why don't you, OP Guest not second Guest, register for this site? Your post was pretty well thought out and constructively presented, I'd like to read more of what you have to say. People could take away what they liked for your post and use it, and disregard what they don't.
???????????????? Well said. You're preaching to
????????????????
Well said. You're preaching to the choir in my case, but be assured that there are folks here who are reading and taking notes.
You really should consider becoming a registered user. That would make conversing with or about you much easier and more efficient. It'd boost your credibility, too.
Tweety I would send them what I could but I would also call them
Tweety I would send them what I could but I would also call them to tell. If they get rude about it then hang up.
Well, I called back and talked to the same woman she told me tha
Well, I called back and talked to the same woman she told me that they couldnt except what I wanted to offer to pay. They told me I had to give them 228.76 by the end of the month I guess I had said that I would do that....She reminded me that I made a hardship agreement? 228.76 by the end of this month and 228.76 due by the 14th of march...Now what? I ended up hangin up on her. I'm still going to send them something today. It's not much but I'm terrified that she will call back and talk to my HR department. What do I do now? :(
It's not like they are going to mail your payment back to you. W
It's not like they are going to mail your payment back to you. Why would they call and talk to your HR department? There is no reason to. Just mail them what you can and then mail them what you can next month and so on.
I agree with the OP. Everyone should understand, that as the deb
I agree with the OP. Everyone should understand, that as the debtor, YOU ARE IN CONTROL. It is up to you whether to pay and when.
"But aren't you afraid they will do something?" collection agencies CANNOT DO ANYTHING TO YOU. Only a lawyer can sue you, and you can then negotiate with them. Your bad credit has already been reported.
As the OP said, if the CA doesn't want to play ball, WALK!
I guess my concern is that because they are "attorney at law" th
I guess my concern is that because they are "attorney at law" they CAN sue me? You would think that they would apply my payments to the debt but she made it clear that they are not a collection agency are ATTORNEYS?
Tweety71: don't hijack this thread. If you have a problem not
Tweety71: don't hijack this thread. If you have a problem not related to the OP, start a new thread.
good point jheard. Tweety already has another thread on this whe
good point jheard. Tweety already has another thread on this where members have already given her sage advice on what to do.
tweety I have only glanced through this post and may not have
tweety
I have only glanced through this post and may not have understood thoroughly.. but agree with many comments here... you said that
" but she made it clear that they are not a collection agency are ATTORNEYS? "..did they do this by validation or by just telling you they are attorneys?
also..you worrying that they will call your HR dept... from what I have seen from so many here is indeed a legit worry..(they wouldn't call if they are not in the harassment form of collecting)..sometimes having your work phone number is their only weapon of intimidation against you...they will call you at work if they have your current work number...your best option if you are worried at all about this is to explain your situation to your HR department...(if an employee tells me what is going on and about their situation and hardships...I myself am a beast when it comes to collection agencies trying to contact or leave an inappropriate message for them at work)...these companies want money..but to try to harass you at your current job and possibly get you fired? Doesn't make sense...then where does the payment come from? It's a 
situation for them and I do wish you the best of luck!
plus I'm thinking a hardship agreement could be re-negotiated as long as you are still paying..what if you are even in worse hardship than when you previously agreed to payment situation? Can experts tell us what happens in this situation? thanks!
also tweety don't apologize to guests! please! you haven't done
also tweety
don't apologize to guests! please! you haven't done anything to say that you are sorry here as far as I can see!
Thanks everyone for your help. I did send them what I could yes
Thanks everyone for your help. I did send them what I could yesterday by money order. It's not what she's expecting so I guess I will wait and see. :)
Considering the title of this thread is "How to handle payment a
Considering the title of this thread is "How to handle payment arrangements with collectors" any question about any type of payment or how to work it is entirely appropriate and isn't "hijacking" the thread.
AMO Recoveries Question
They called me at work, and offered me two solutions.
1. Pay $220 (that I can't afford) a month for 3 months. (I can afford $157 barely).
2. They will garnish my wages. She said it would be 25% which I cannot afford, even more.
So I called them back and arranged payments of $175 a month. Then when I told them I would be mailing a money order, the guy told me that I have to have my payment in by the end of the next day, because they have to close it by the end of the month. Doesn't make sense to me, since I only had 1 day to pay and get it to them by the end of the month.
My question is: I checked out western union, who charges an ungodly amount of $27 per transaction. I might as well be paying the $220. So I won't be sending it that way. I'm planning on mailing it, which means they won't get it until three days later. If they decide to be a pain in the butt about it, can they reject my payment and garnish my wages anyways?
AMO Recoveries Question
They called me at work, and offered me two solutions.
1. Pay $220 (that I can't afford) a month for 3 months. (I can afford $157 barely).
2. They will garnish my wages. She said it would be 25% which I cannot afford, even more.
So I called them back and arranged payments of $175 a month. Then when I told them I would be mailing a money order, the guy told me that I have to have my payment in by the end of the next day, because they have to close it by the end of the month. Doesn't make sense to me, since I only had 1 day to pay and get it to them by the end of the month.
My question is: I checked out western union, who charges an ungodly amount of $27 per transaction. I might as well be paying the $220. So I won't be sending it that way. I'm planning on mailing it, which means they won't get it until three days later. If they decide to be a pain in the butt about it, can they reject my payment and garnish my wages anyways?